Who is Justin Melick?

Background:

Born in Miami, he, lived in Indonesia for five years with his missionary parents before settling in Union County. He has visited around a dozen countries including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and China and has travelled all over the South, but likes Union County because the tranquil, friendly way of life suits him.

Education:

Melick has had a diverse and well rounded education specializing in journalism and history at Georgia Military College, Young Harris College, Gainesville State College and North Georgia College and State University.

Career:

During his professional career, Melick has worked primarily as a journalist. He began working with the Union Sentinel Newspaper covering Panther sports, in 2002 and went on to cover government as well. In 2005 he was the first person to ever be named Sports Editor at the Union Sentinel. (See an example of his work) In 2006 he agreed to help the Mountain Chronicle. From there he went on to the Dawson Community News, which had been experiencing a great deal of turnover in the sports department and he provided much needed stability. While there, he was asked to do a front page series on a proposed Millage Rate change because he was the only one in the office who understood Millage Rates. In August a suitable replacement became available and he left to become a subcontracted employee of the Federal Government working as a family consultant.

Political Life:

Melick is not a newcomer to the political world. While at Young Harris College he served on the board of the College Republicans. In 2004 he founded a 527 group to promote George W. Bush locally. In 2005 he was elected to the Executive Board of the Union County Republican Party and in 2007 was elected as second vice chairman of the party. He has helped with countless campaigns from the local level to the U.S. Senate. Melick is the president and founder of the Conservative Country Coalition a non-profit organization that promotes family values and support for our troops. The organization has raised thousands for the troops and its annual fundraising dinner attracted Sen. Saxby Chambliss this year. In 2006 Melick was asked by the Georgians for Fair Taxation to be the Fair Tax cooridinator for Towns and Union Counties.

Business:

Recently Melick took over a corporation that had posted a 50% loss the previous year and has transformed it into a sucessful enterprise that includes an online network, a food production line, a business services company and a movie production company. He did this by mixing old fashioned customer service with creative new innovations while cutting costs.

Personal:

Justin is a long time student of Civil War history. He enjoys reading, writing, film making, film history, and fishing to name a few things. He inherited a fondness for Louis L'Amour books from his Grandfather. He is a sports fan and thinks that sports competitions are much more civilized than politics. He has played baseball, soccer (its really hardcore in Asia) , track and cross country. He is a voting shareholder of Ebbswood Fleet United, an English soccer club.

Fun Facts:

Favorite Color: Aqua

Favorite Food Type: Italian, American

Favorite Number: 13

Favorite Celebrity: The Geico Gecko

Heroes: Jesus, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Gen. George Patton, George Washington, Napoleon, Dan Marino, Mike Huckabee, Chuck Honaker.

Links: Justin delivers some thoughts on Blairsville   |  Announcement Speech Part 1 |  Announcement Speech Part 2 |